WSJ.com - Enrollment in Cancer-Drug Study Is Suspended

WSJ.com - Enrollment in Avastin Study Is Suspended: "Researchers suspended patient enrollment in a study of Genentech Inc.'s cancer drug Avastin after four volunteers died suddenly of causes unrelated to cancer, the company said yesterday.

The deaths are the first sudden fatalities to turn up in clinical trials of Avastin, a 'targeted' therapy that fights tumors by choking off their blood supply. It wasn't immediately clear to what extent Avastin itself may be responsible.

The unexpected deaths all occurred in one of three different treatment arms, in which patients received Avastin in combination with the chemotherapy drugs capecitabine and oxaliplatin, a regimen dubbed Xelox. Overall, researchers reported seven noncancer-related deaths in the Avastin/Xelox group, compared with three among patients who received Avastin and a different combination of chemotherapy drugs known as Folfox. There were four deaths among patients who received only the Folfox chemotherapy."